Little Libraries of KW

Our awesome project is awesome! Wouldn't it be cool to have little libraries all over town? I'm talking about box about the size of a large birdhouse, on a post, on your front lawn, filled with books that people walking by can browse and take.

The idea comes from the folks at littlefreelibrary.org in the US, and I've taken it on to champion the idea locally. Our website and Facebook page have been brimming with excitement. Brimming! We also got a great writeup in the Community Cord, just today: http://www.community.thecord.ca/10ideas/

Our goal, as an organization, is to make Little Libraries accessible to anyone who wants one: that means having inexpensive, easy-to-assemble kits; a community of people who can act as information and motivational resources, and a website to pull together all of this.

To that end, a local craftsman has created two box designs with plans, and a local renovation firm has offered to sponsor some of the cost of materials. They've even agreed to cut/drill the wood, so that all you'll need is a screwdriver... how cool is that?

Other info that we're pulling together includes stuff like "how do I dig a post hole?" and "whom do I need to call before digging"... all the nitty-gritty that gets overlooked in a project like this.

We are looking at scheduling a build date in mid-June... exciting times!

Even if everything were subsidized financially, there is still a large sweat-equity component, but the financial hurdles are real for many folks. As well, many people don't have the time or skill to build a Little Library: if we can offer pre-assembled Libraries to people, even at some cost, it will put local builders to work, and spur adoption of the project.

A lot more background info including our motivations is available at our website, especially at this page: